Chomp chomp chomp! That's the sound of the Trash Chomper from The LEGO Movie coming to gobble you up - or save the day, depending on how you play with your toys. This mean, green machine is the subject of today's set review by ChocolateFrogs. Evil beware, for these garbage men will have none of your trash! Read on to find out just what this 2-in-1 set has to offer.

Today we look at the 2-in-1 set Trash Chomper, which consists of a standard LEGO City garbage truck which can be rebuilt into the Trash Chomper. I hope the truck driver is a good-guy, because if he doesn't use this power for good fighting off Lord Business' Micro Manager then we're all in trouble!

And a special thanks to The LEGO Group for sending these sets to BZPower! It's really cool getting a first look at them and being able to share that with the BZPower community.

PresentationFrom the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

The box is shiny. Shinier than usual LEGO boxes. Aside from that, the picture really makes me want to buy the set and play with it in all its chompy goodness. Too bad it doesn't come with a sound brick that says “om nom nom!” Regardless, the box does a good job displaying the set's features and advertising The LEGO Movie. Among the pieces and instructions inside is a small sticker sheet. This will not be used in today's review.

BuildingHalf the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

The build starts off with a firm chassis for the truck and builds up from there. Every so often some SNOT pieces are used, and later on that means some details on the side to round out the building experience. Building the truck gets exciting when some Technic parts are inserted, and while the gears don't do anything for the truck, they will be used later in the Chomper alternate build. Right now they provide a way for the garbage truck to lift its back up and down for the garbage men.

Moving on to the Micro Manager, this little critter is black and trans-red, giving it a very ominous feel while building. The flick fire missiles hiding under the flaps do not remove that feeling. But this is a quick build.

When the Micro Manager rounds the corner and the garbage men see it attacking their chef friend, it's time to get down to business to stop Lord Business: Time to transform! Unfortunately, this is less of a transformation and more of a rebuilding...into the Trash Chomper!

The Trash Chomper builds up and out. It's got wings! It's got engines! It's got cannons! It uses the Technic parts to make a nasty chomper right at its front! The Micro Manager never stood a chance.

Set DesignNow that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

There are not too many noteworthy pieces in this set, at least nothing truly to make it stand out. There is a lot of green, but after that it depends on personal value. Those large curved slopes are neat, as are the green 2x1 cheese slopes. A handful of minifig accessories are also nice to add to a collection.

From all angles, this garbage truck is a sturdy machine that looks cool too. It's sure to be a welcome addition to any LEGO City scene.

The Micro Manager has some flick fire missiles hidden under its shell, though they do stick out of the back. It looks nasty for a little guy. Better watch out!

Of course, if you have the Trash Chomper at your aid, you don't have to watch out. You'll be rescued with a story to tell. The wheels look like cannons on the front and engines in the back. The trash cans are cleverly placed to make the point that this is a repurposed trash truck. It has everything the garbage men could need to save the chef.

Finally, the figs. The garbage men have a small variety to them above their uniforms. The chef is delightful for his scared face with a mustache. I'm looking forward to using that in a MOC sometime. From left to right, they are: Garbage Man Dan, Garbage Man Grant, and Gordon Zola.

PlayabilityThe other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with.

Om nom nom

The biggest play feature is the chomping action given the Trash Chomper. The Technic pieces make sure it opens evenly and closes with force! Sure does help fight off the Micro Manager.

One thing that might slow down fighting off the Micro Manager is that to use the Chomper, the set has to be taken apart and rebuilt. While it certainly doesn't look like it can transform from truck to Chomper, it would have been a cool play feature. But at least the chef knows how to hold bad guys off with an effective frying pan!

Final ThoughtsOnce it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

ProsWhat's to like?

Chomping action

Solid garbage truck set

Garbage men heroes

Lots of green

2-in-1 feature

ConsWhat's not to like?

No noteworthy pieces

Truck does not transform, but rebuilds.

Despite any shortcomings, it really is a solid set. The garbage truck looks great, and the Trash Chomper is awesome. This is something that I believe will appeal to LEGO City fans especially - imagine seeing this in a city diorama just chomping its way down the street! At $30 and 389 pieces, the part value is pretty high too. This is just another set from The LEGO Movie that seems to exceed all expectations. Can't wait for the movie to do that!

Finally, don't forget about BZPower's LEGO Movie contest: Caveat Scriptor! The challenge is to write a short scene using LEGO Movie characters, and the winner gets free tickets to The LEGO Movie and a 6-month premier membership! Check it out for more details.